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Kratos
"His desire for conquest knew no bounds, but that which he desired would ultimately consume him." - Gaia Kratos is the main character and anti-hero of the God of War series. He is the son of Zeus and a Mortal Woman. Kratos was a Spartan general and servant of Ares, and Kratos later rebelled against his master and destroyed him using Pandora's Box. Upon defeating Ares, he became the new God of War. Biography Early life Kratos became the captain of a rapidly growing Spartan army, first with only fifty men that grew into the thousands. He won many victories and brought many treasures back to his family. He gave his wife a jeweled necklace, and his daughter Calliope a carved wooden flute. But soon, Kratos became brutal, winning battles though brutal, unorthodox but effective tactics. Only his family was brave enough to question his motives. He claims he wants the world to know of the glory of Sparta, but his wife protested he was just doing it for himself. However he and his Spartan army were no match for the barbarian tribes. Being outnumbered and overpowered, his army was losing the battle. Kratos, about to be killed by the barbarians' leader, pledged himself to Ares, the God of War, in exchange for victory. The god accepted and wiped out the barbarians, giving Kratos the Blades of Chaos as a sign of his servitude. Kratos served Ares loyally for ten years. However, Ares later tricked him into killing his wife and child and as a result, the an oracle declared he is to be cursed to wear their ashes for all time on his skin (appearing white) and from that day forward became known as "The Ghost of Sparta". Grief-stricken, Kratos was afterward haunted by terrible nightmares of the deaths of his family. He was forever known as the "Ghost of Sparta" to all who saw him. Serving the Gods See also: God of War: Chains of Olympus For 10 years Kratos served the Gods to rid him of the pain and madness caused by the nightmares of the murder of his family. But no matter how many battles he fought or women he took to his bed, there was no escape from his punishment. Halfway through his servitude, he was sent to defend Attica against the Persians, while at the same time, fought a basilisk. While chasing the former, he kills the Persian King and then kills the former. He is soon witness to the sun falling from the sky, plunging the world into darkness. He follows it through Marathon and the black fog of Morpheus. When he arrives at the Temple of Helios, a statue of Athena tells him that Helios has disappeared and Morpheus caused the gods to fall "into a deep slumber". He is tasked to rescue Helios to stop Morpheus. Along the way, he hears a familiar melody, which he recognizes as a song played by his daughter Calliope. He meets Eos, who says the gods will relieve him of his nightmares if he saves Helios from Atlas. Bringing fire steeds to life, Kratos goes into the Underworld but is denied passage from Charon, who casts him into Tartarus. Kratos is able to escape and defeat the ferryman, using the Gauntlet of Zeus from his temple. After taking his boat, Kratos sees Calliope and goes after her. But when he arrives at the Temple of Persephone, he doesn't find his daughter but the goddess herself, the Queen of the Underworld. Persephone tells him his daughter is in Elysium Fields and the only way to see her is to relinquish his past deeds and powers given to him by the gods. But when he gives his power to the Forsaken Tree, Persephone reveals that she released Atlas to destroy the pillar that holds the world, in revenge for the betrayal of her family that ended up in her marriage to Hades. Realizing he was causing his daughter's death again, Kratos abandons hope of seeing her again to stop Persephone. He recovers his powers and weapons and follows her to the pillar and chains Atlas to the pillar and defeats her. But she warns that his suffering will never end. He resolves to continue serving the gods so they will keep his promise. He then returns Helios to the sky, but is weak from battle and falls down to Earth on the exact spot where he will attempt suicide. Helios and Athena take the Gauntlet of Zeus and the Sun Shield away from him. Kratos' Final Task See also: God of War Ten Years later, after killing the sea monster known as The Hydra, Kratos got a chance to seek his revenge on the God of War and rid himself of the terrible nightmares that haunted him. He is ordered by Athena to seek out Pandora's Box in order to help him destroy Ares. Following an Athenian Oracle's instructions, Kratos traversed the Desert of Lost Souls and found Pandora's Temple atop the back of the Titan Cronos. He made his way through the temple and retrieved Pandora's Box. After obtaining Pandora's box, Ares hurls a huge broken Greek pillar towards The Temple of Pandora's Box. The pillar impales and kills Kratos sending him to Hades as Harpies take the Box. During the fall to the River Styx, Kratos is able to grab onto a ledge and then escapes the clutches of Hades. He is helped by the Gravedigger he met earlier. He then reacquires Pandora's Box from Ares and uses grow to the god's size. After a hard fight, Ares sucks Kratos into a void where four monstrous incarnations of himself were attempting to kill his family. He tries to save them but Ares strips him of the Blades of Chaos to murder his family again. When he snaps back into the real world, Ares is prepared to deliver the final blow, Kratos notices the Blade of the Gods, which connects Athens to a temple and uses it to destroy the God of War. Although his past was forgiven, the gods could not relieve Kratos of his nightmares. Kratos attempted suicide by jumping off a cliff, but Athena saved him and offered him the empty throne on Olympus. He goes through the portal to Olympus and sits on Ares' throne and becomes the new God of War. For all time, whenever battle was about, for good or evil, they would be under Kratos' watchful eye. The New God of War See also: God of War II As the new God of War, Kratos continued his conquests. He orders his Spartan legions to attack other cities, such as Rhodes, to distract him from his nightmares. He does not listen to Athena's warnings not to upset the Gods and plunges down to Earth, wrecking havoc on the city. But then an eagle (who he thinks is Athena), robs him of most of his godly power, causing him to shrink to the size of a man and places it in the Colossus of Rhodes, bringing it to life. Kratos fights a long and hard battle with the giant until Zeus offers help in the form of the Blade of Olympus, which was used to end the Titan War. Infusing all of his powers and immortality into the blade, Kratos takes down his foe. As he shouts to the heavens, asking if he needed anything more to prove, the Colossus' falling hand crushes him. He began limping his way to the blade to save himself, only for the eagle to reveal itself to be Zeus, who explains he's trying to save Olympus from the same fate as Ares'. The King of the Gods takes the blade and drives it into his chest, telling him he will never will rule Olympus and all will suffer for his sacrilege. With a swing, he destroys all warriors in the city. With his last breath Kratos swears Zeus will pay. Kratos is then dragged down by the arms of the Underworld, the Titan Gaia, who has been watching him his whole life, saves him, sealing his wound and giving him back the strength to escape death once again. He climbs out from the Underworld back into Rhodes, where he instructs a surviving soldier to return to Sparta for another battle. He takes Pegasus to fly back to Olympus so he could exact his revenge but the flaming winged horse would not listen to him. Gaia told him to seek out the Sisters of Fate so that he may travel back in time to reclaim the Blade of Olympus to take his revenge on Zeus. Kratos goes to Typhon's lair, where he meets Prometheus, who pleads him to release him from his torment in the fire of Olympus. Kratos takes a bow from Typhon and uses it against Prometheus' last chain, burning his flesh and his ashes granted him a Titan power. Kratos safely arrived on the Island of Creation. He meets Theseus and fights him to determine who is the best warrior; Perseus to save his beloved Andromeda; the Barbarian King who escaped Hades' torment to change his fate; and Icarus, who has gone crazy. After defeating them all, he falls into the Underworld once again, where he meets Atlas. The Titan is intent on crushing the former god for his imprisonment but Kratos promises to change his fate in exchange for his help. When he gets back to the surface, he accidentally wounds the Spartan soldier from earlier, who tells him that Zeus destroyed Sparta for serving Kratos. As he shouts out his anger, he is attacked by the Kraken. As he was held in the beast's grasp, Kratos sees his wife, which is actually Gaia, who encourages him to go on or face eternal torment in Hades. Kratos soon meets with Lahkesis, who tells him that the Fates decide the destinies of all and that she allowed him to come this far. He battles her but she then summons Atropos, who takes him back in time to his battle with Ares, determined to destroy the Blade of the Gods, so he'd die in the present. He stops her and flings them back to the present. He fights both of the Fates and traps them in a mirror and then shatters it. He then goes to Clotho, who warns him not to go forward with his manipulation of fate. He kills her and takes control of the Loom Chamber, going back in time to take the Blade of Olympus back from Zeus, pulling it out of his other self. They fight on the Summit of Sacrifice. When Zeus unleashes a powerful lightning storm, Kratos yields defeat and surrenders. He asks to be put out of his misery. Zeus promises him a quick death, stating, "I will release you from your life my son, but your torment is just beginning." Kratos dodges the blow and pins Zeus to a rock with his blades. He then takes up the Blade of Olympus and drives it into Zeus' abdomen. He is stopped by Athena, who is willing to defend Olympus. As Zeus tries to flee, Kratos makes one more attempt on him, only for Athena to take the blow. Her dying words reveal that Zeus is his father and was hoping to break the cycle of son-killing-father. Zeus has to live so Olympus will prevail. Kratos snarls he has no father and declares that the time of the Gods is at an end. Returning to the Loom, Kratos traveled back in time to the Great Titan War and took the Titans back to the present. As the game closed, he led them in an assault on Mount Olympus, declaring "Zeus, your son has returned! I bring the destruction of Olympus!" Weapons and powers Kratos is capable of superhuman strength, which can surpase that of nearly any other mortal. He also possessed very strong durability and resiliance compared to other humans. These are all possibly because he is part god, being that Zeus is his father. Thanks to these feats, Kratos is able to grapple with monsters and even other gods. Kratos' main weapons were once the Blades of Chaos, a gift from Ares. They are essentially two Falchion-like blades on long chains, permanently fused with the wielder's forearms. Once Kratos killed Ares, Athena replaced them with a nearly identical pair of blades called the Blades of Athena. Kratos, before and after becoming a god, had gained many powers from the Gods. But when he relinquished them to the Blade of Olympus, he was given new powers from the Titans. One of Kratos' greatest weapons is the Blade of Olympus, which he infused all of his godly powers in. Personality Kratos is a very destructive, amoral, self-centered and brutal character, driven constantly by his rage and pride. In God of War, he blames the original God of War, Ares, for tricking him into killing his beloved wife and child while ensnared by a blind fury to kill. Likewise, in God of War II, he swears revenge on Zeus for deceiving and then betraying him by killing him. Kratos occasionally does display feelings of guilt or sorrow, mostly for his family, but these emotions are often converted to extreme rage. Such as when Kratos fatally stabbed Athena to death. Kratos also showed respect for a nameless Spartan warrior he encountered several times in course of the second game. Unable to cope with the memory of his own misdeeds, Kratos has considered suicide on two separate occasions and faked a third suicide attempt to trick Zeus into letting his guard down. He is surprised, however, when Athena tells Kratos that he is the son of Zeus. In denial, he replies that he has no father, and does not truly accept this fact until the siege of Mount Olympus, where he told Zeus that his son brought the destruction of Olympus. Family Kratos, being the son of Zeus, had a large family. In the games, he had a mortal mother, a wife, and child. They all die however, after Ares tricks him into killing them. He also has an enormous amount of sibling and step mothers on his father's side. Trivia *Kratos is voiced by TC Carson in all three games *"Kratos" actually means "power" or "strength" in Greek. *Though Kratos isn't a character in actual Greek mythology, there is a being in myth named "Cratos". He is the son of Pallas and Styx and the personification of strength and power. Gallery Image:932295_20060508_screen009.jpg|Kratos wearing the God of War armor Image:Kratos_2.jpg|Kratos leaping Image:BladesofChaos.jpg|Kratos attacking with the Blades of Chaos Image:Kratos_3.jpg|Kratos with Medusa's head Image:Kratos_4.jpg|Kratos destroying his foes Image:God-of-War-2-1220.jpg|Kratos about to kill a Cyclops Image:Kratos5.jpg|Kratos fighting a Griffin Rider Image:Kratos_6.jpg|Kratos with the Blades of Chaos Image:Kratos_7.jpg|Kratos leaping from the Pegasus Image:Kratos_8.jpg|Kratos leaping from the Pegasus Image:Kratos_9.jpg|Kratos climbing Atlas Image:Kratos_10.jpg|Kratos fighting Euryale Category:Characters Category:Relatives of Zeus Category:God of War 1 Characters Category:God of War 2 Characters Category:God of War:Chains of Olympus Characters Category:Immortals Category:Heroes trying to change their fate Category:God of War Series